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Born in Detroit to immigrants from Kerry and Tipperary, Ireland, Cathie Ryan was raised in a musical environment. Her father was a tenor and very much in demand locally as a singer. From the age of seven, Cathie performed with her family at the local Gaelic League and Irish-American Club and participated in feis, annual competitions of dancing, singing, and other aspects of Irish culture. As a child she often visited her grandparents in Ireland, which had a profound effect on her singing and songwriting. Her paternal grandmother, Catherine Ryan, was a fine fiddler and singer and her maternal grandfather, Patrick Rice, was a gifted storyteller. Through these experiences she learned the rudiments of sean nós, unaccompanied singing, and eventually moved to New York to study with the renowned sean nós singer Joe Heaney.

From 1988-1995, Cathie served as the lead singer of “Cherish the Ladies,” a group that began as a one-time weekend concert designed to showcase women in traditional Irish music but quickly grew into an internationally acclaimed band that toured year-round. During her tenure with the group, Cathie moved easily between sean nós to English-language Irish songs to her own compelling compositions. Since embarking on a solo career, Cathie has released three albums on the Shanachie Entertainment label to critical acclaim and has appeared on more than thirty collections of music. Among numerous accolades, the Irish American News in Chicago named her the Irish Female Vocalist of the Decade in 2000.

Accompanying Cathie (bodhrán, vocals) at the 2003 Great Lakes Folk Festival are Greg Anderson (guitar, bouzouki, vocals), Sara Milonovich (fiddle, vocals) and Brendan Dolan (keyboard, flute, whistles) who is the son of renowned Irish-traditional pianist Felix Dolan.

http://cathieryan.com
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http://www.nighteaglecafe.org/artists/ryan.html